Folding machine



Aug. 4, 1936. R. G. REID FOLDING MACHINE Filed July 27, 1934 PatentedAug. 4, 1936 PATENT orrics FOLDING MACHINE Robert Gow Reid, Leicester,England, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson, c: N.J., a corporation of New Jersey .Application' July 2'7, v1934, SerialNo. 737,246

* In Great Britain September 5, 1933 10 Claims. (o1. 270493) Thisinvention relates to machines for folding the edges of sheet materialand particularly to machines for folding andpressing shoe upper parts,the marginal portions of which have been previously cemented, and. forfolding and. pressing previously cementedtextile material, such as isutilized in the manufacture of waterproof clothing. The illustratedmachine is ofv the type in which the margin of the material is: turnedin- ..Wardly or folded by means of. a scroll. and the object of theinvention is to provide an improved machine by means .of which work ofgoodquality may be formed at a high rate of speed without requiringunusual skill on: the part of the operator.

When the folding is to. be done upon textile material, such as. isemployed in the manufacture of mackintoshes and similar clothing, it isfrequently required to turn the margins of suchmaterial over the workfrom one-fourth of an inch to two inches. It is important that apreviously cemented margin shall not be brought into contact with thebody of the work untilit has been turned to a position over the bodyof-the work.

which it will finally occupy after it shall have been pressed down andcaused to -adhere. thereto. The presence of air bubbles beneath thefolded margins should be avoided: These things are accomplished inthe-illustrated: machine by the provision of' a'folding mechanismemploying a scroll in which two platesare held in spaced relation toform a slot for receiving. and defining a margin folded over the bodyofthework. As

the work is guided through the scrolhtlie inturnedmargin is held awayfrom-the work by the lower of these plates.

Tofacilitate the entrance of the margin of a pieceof work beingpresented to'the machine in the slot of the scroll, the latter, inaccordance with a feature of the invention, is mounted fortiltingmovement about anaxis here shown as parallel to the line of fold.The scroll as a unit is tilted to an upright position when the work'isfirst presented thereto; The presentationof a piece of work is alsofacilitated by mounting thescroll'for sliding, movement toward and awayfrom the work feeding mechanism 'sothat it may be drawn away from thefeed rolls when: the

pieceof work is inserted in the scroll and then I allowed to slide upto'operative position as'the' endof the work is grippedby the feedrolls.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of anadjustable edge gage which is illustrated as positionedin'the slot ofthe scroll andhas a surface for engaging the edge of. the

. a grooved pulley. Manda pinion l5 and supportmovable thin plate 26.

work. Prevention of the formation of air bubbles is effected, inaccordance with another feature of the invention, by means of a pressingdevice which acts over the full width of the cemented and. folded marginas the work passes it and 6 presses out any bubbles of air inadvertentlytrapped beneath the folded margin.

These and other features of the invention are fully set forth in thefollowing specification, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, 10 in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation with parts broken awayand in section; V

Fig. 2 is an angular view of a portion of the work support, and the workfolding and feeding mechanism;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation with parts broken away and in section, andFig. 4 is a transverse section, enlarged, through the scroll but showingthe scroll tipped upwardly to facilitate insertion of the edge of thework in the recess of the scroll. -I The machine is built upon a frame Illin which there is journaled a drive shaft l2 provided with ing at itsother end a lower feed roll 16. Adjacent to the lower feed roll andsupported by clamp screws I8 upon a rod 20 which is held in the frame bymeans of aset screw 22 is a work support or table 24. The lower feedroll l6 projects slightly through a slot 21 at one edge of this-Worksupporting table 24 and formed in a re- Cooperating with. the lowerfeed roll l6 and positioned above the work supporting table 24 is anupper feed roll mounted upon a shaft 32 which is journaled in aswingable bracket 34 and-is provided at its other end with a pinion 36.This bracket 34 is mounted for a limited swinging movement about a shaft35 (Fig. 3) which is carried by the frame l0 and which is beyond theshaft 32 from the viewpoint of the observer in Fig. 1. The roll 30 isheld in engagement with the work by means of a plunger '40 engaging aboss upon the bracket 34. This plunger slides in a casing 42 in theupper part 45 of the frame and is urged downwardly by a spring (notshown), the tension of which may be adjusted by a screw 44. The-limit ofdownward movement of the bracket 34 and, hence, of the upper feed roll30 is determined by a stop screw 46. A driving connection between thefeed rolls l5 and 30 is provided by means of idlers 48 and 56 beyond thepinions l5 and 36 and which are journaled upon stub shafts, one ofvwhich is shown at. 52, carried by a cover member 54 mounted 55 upon oneend of the rod 20. The arrangement A of the driving gears is such thatthe feed rolls are rotated in opposite directions and have substantiallythe same peripheral speed.

Extending in the general direction of feeding movement and, hence,substantially parallel to the edge of the work supporting table 24, is arod 60 which is carried by said table and which serves for slidablysupporting a block 62 which is grooved to receive a downturned edge 64of the table. Secured to the side of this block by a screw 66 is a hingeplate 68 on the upper edge of which is pivoted upon a hinge pin 69 ascroll 10. When a piece of work is to be inserted, the scroll I0 isturned to an upright position, shown in Fig. 4, which position isdetermined by engagement with the hinge plate 68 of lugs II upon thescroll 10.

The scroll "I0 guides the pre-cemented margin of a piece of material andfolds this margin to cause it to overlie the body of the materialthereby to make a fold which may be pressed down and caused to adhere tothe body of the material. As will be seen from the drawing, the scrollnormally overlies the body of the work and is provided with a recess I2defined on one side by a cover plate I4 attached to the body of thescroll. The extent to which the work may be pushed intothe recess I2 isdetermined by an adjustable edge gage I6. This is made up of a T-shapedplate having an enlarged portion I8 at the entering side of the scroll.A shank 80 of the T which is received in a recess inthe scroll extendingtransversely of the edge of the material has a clamping screw 82extending upwardly through a slot 84 in the top side of the body of thescroll. In order to facilitate the guidance of the entering work, thework contacting edge of the gage I6 is slightly farther away from thehinge pin 69 at the entering side of the scroll than it is at theleaving side.

Interposed between the scroll I0 and the feed rolls I6 and 30 is apresser 90 comprising an angular plate having a smooth under surface,the lower face of which is approximately the width of the folded portionof the material and which,

as will be explained, drags upon the folded margin 200 of a piece ofmackintosh material 202. This presser is attached by screws to a support92 which is slidable in a way formed between a downwardly extending lug94 upon the table casting and a cover plate 96. This plate 96 has anelongated slot through which extends a pin attached to the slide andbearing a roll 98. A spring I00 tends to hold the presser yieldingly inengagement with the work. When it is desired to insert a new piece ofwork, the presser 90 may be lifted by means of a bell crank cam leverI02 having a finger piece I04 and a curved upwardly extending arm I06provided with a notch I08. When the lever I02 is in the position shownin Fig. 3, the presser rests against the work under spring pressure.Movement of the lever to a position where the notch I08 underlies theroll 98 raises the presser away from the work. This bell crank lever I02is pivoted upon' the machine will be provided with a wider scroll (notshown), a wider presser (not shown), wider feed rolls (not shown), and awider scraper (not shown). When a piece of work is to be inserted, thefeed roll 30 may be lifted by means of a treadle 5 (not shown) connectedto a rod I20 which is linked to the outer end of an arm I22 forming anextension of the bracket 34.

Assuming the folding of a margin 200 of a piece of sheet material 202 isto be begun, the scroll or turning device I0 will be turned into uprightposition and slid back, away from the pressing device 90, and thepreviously cemented margin of the material will be pushed into it, theback position giving the operator space to draw the material forward.After the margin'of the material has been fitted into the recess back ofthe bottom plate I4 and against the edge gage I6, the scroll will beturned down flat over the table and the leading edge, including themargin 200 20 thus folded, of the material will be drawn underneath thepressing device 90 which is lifted at that time by the cam lever I02forthat purpose. After passing under the pressing device, theleading'edge of the material is pushed right up to 25 the biteof therolls I6, 30. The shaft I2 may be rotated at about 200 revolutions perminute with usual mackintosh material, giving a linear speed of travelof the work of over '70 feet per minute.

Particularly when adhesive containing rubber 30 is used, it is importantthat a cemented surface should not be allowed to touch any otherpart ofthe material until it is in correct position to be caused to adherepermanently thereto and, once a contact is obtained, that air bubblesshould not be surrounded by adhering surfaces. The threading of thecemented margin of a piece of mackintosh material through a scroll ofthe nature above described tends to maintain the marginally cementedportion'apart from the other portions of the material and it is notuntil they reach the pressing device that the cemented portions arepressed into contact with one another. The pressing device acts over thefull width of the cemented margin and, as the material passes, itpresses backwards any bubbles of air that may possibly'be trapped in thecemented margin of the material. The rolls, besides acting to feed thematerial through the machine, act in some degree to consolidate the twothicknesses of material already acted upon by the presser.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States is:

'1. In a machine of the character described, a work support, workfeeding means, a scroll for turning in the margin of the work thereby toform a fold and comprising upper and lower plates mounted'in spacedrelation to provide a slot extending inwardly of the work from the lineof 60 fold, a gage slidably mounted on one of the plates and positionedbetween them, means for holding said gage in adjusted position, andmeans for supporting said scroll for tilting movement about an axisalongside of the line of fold whereby the 65 scroll may be tilted awayfrom the work support to facilitate the insertion of the margin of apiece of work in the slot.

2. In a machine of the character described, a work support, work feedingmechanism, a scroll 7 for turning in the margin of the work thereby toform a fold, said scroll having a slot extending inwardly of the workfrom the line of fold, means for pivotally supporting said scroll fortilting movement about an axis adjacent to the line of 75 fold to anupright position, and means for limiting the tilting movement of thescroll in said upright position.

3. In a machine of the character described, a work support, work feedingmechanism, and a scroll for folding the margin of the work extendinginwardly over the work and provided with a slot to receive the inturnedmargin, said scroll being mounted for sliding movement toward and awayfrom the feeding mechanism.

4. In a machine of the character described, a work support, work feedingmechanism, a scroll for forming a fold along a line, and a supportmounted for sliding movement toward and away from the feeding mechanismin a direction substantially parallel to the line of fold, said scrollbeing pivotally mounted on said support.

5. In a, machine of the character described, a work support, workfeeding mechanism, a scroll positioned to engage the work before it isengaged by the work feeding mechanism, said scroll comprising a bodyoverhanging the body of the Work, a portion separated therefrom to forma recess, and an adjustable edge gage having a work-engaging face withinthe recess of the scroll.

6. In a machine of the character described, a work support, work feedingmechanism, a scroll positioned to engage the work before it is engagedby the work feeding mechanism, an adjustable gage within the recess ofsaid scroll, and means for supporting said gage for tilting movementtoward and away from the work support about an axis adjacent to the foldformed by thescroll.

'7. In a machine of the character described, a work support, workfeeding mechanism, a scroll positioned to engage the work before it isengaged by the work feeding mechanism, said scroll having a slotextending inwardly from the line of fold and above the body of the work,and a gage plate slidably mounted on said scroll in said slot formovement toward and away from the line of 5 fold and adapted to engagethe inturned edge of the work.

8. In a machine of the character described, a work support, work feedingmechanism, a scroll positioned before said feeding mechanism andarranged to turn in the margin of the work, a drag presser interposedbetween the scroll and the feeding mechanism arranged to press down theinturned margin upon the work, said presser being movably mounted onsaid machine, and means for moving said presser into and out ofoperative position.

9. In a machine of the character described, a work support, work feedingmechanism, a scroll positioned before said feeding mechanism, and ar 20ranged to turn in the margin of the work, and a presser interposedbetween the scroll and the feeding mechanism arranged to press down theinturned margin upon the work, said scroll being mounted for slidingmovement along the work 25 support toward and away from the presser tofacilitate the introduction of the work.

10. In a machine of the character described,

a work support, work feeding mechanism, a scroll positioned before thefeeding mechansm to turn 30 in the margin of the work, a drag presserinterposed between the feeding mechanism and the scroll, and means forlifting the presser away from the work support to facilitate theinsertion of a piece of work.

35 ROBERT GOW REID.

